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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125771">Sunday Morning</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginger375/pseuds/Ginger375'>Ginger375</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Coffee, Breakfast, Brunch, Early Relationship, F/M, Overprotective Brother, Pancakes, church, early friendship, faith - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:55:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125771</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginger375/pseuds/Ginger375</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-series. Kurt finds himself with an unexpected companion for church, and ends up learning something despite it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Remy LeBeau/Rogue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sunday Morning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BAMF</p>
<p>Kurt Wagner looked around the tree filled area he had just teleported into, making sure no one had seen his grand entrance.</p>
<p>He adjusted his tie to straighten it, checked to make sure his image inducer was working properly, then strolled out of the trees and onto the sidewalk.</p>
<p>Small groups of people were meandering in the same direction, toward the Bayville Church of the Resurrection. It was Sunday morning, and mass was going to start soon.</p>
<p>Kurt lingered back, smiling as the other parishioners made their way up to the old building. A few even said good morning, having seen the solitary young man in the back pews every so often.</p>
<p>Being an X-man wasn't always conducive to keeping a regular schedule, but Kurt tried to make it as often as he could. He always offered to bring the others if they wanted, and some had joined him once or twice. In fact, Rogue had even relented and said she'd come along today, which had to be a miracle in itself. Getting Rogue to join him at church was like pulling teeth.</p>
<p>It wasn't that he wanted to force his sister into his faith, he only wanted to share it with her once in a while. He rarely pushed, but he'd heard this week's sermon was going to be about forgiveness, for others and the self, and he thought Rogue might get something out of it.</p>
<p>However, Rogue had an impromptu session with Professor Xavier that morning, as Carol Danvers had decided to act up last night. Rogue had told Kurt to go on ahead and she'd just fly over once she was done.</p>
<p>He checked his watch again. She was cutting it awfully close.</p>
<p>I hope she's okay, he thought to himself.</p>
<p>A voice behind him startled Kurt out of his reverie.</p>
<p>"Nice lil' church. Not like the grand ol' buildings you see in the city, but nice. Modest."</p>
<p>Kurt spun around and came face-to-face with the last person he expected to see. "What are you doing here?! Where's Rogue?"</p>
<p>Remy LeBeau stood before him, looking around and taking in the scene.</p>
<p>"She got held up with her session. Asked me to go in her stead."</p>
<p>"Seriously? Can you even go into a church?"</p>
<p>Remy's near-demonic eyes narrowed. "That's a bit of the pot callin' the kettle black, don't you think?"</p>
<p>"What? No! I didn't mean because of that!" Kurt felt his face grow hot. If his image inducer hadn't been activated, he imagined his face would've been a lovely shade of purple. "I meant your commandment-breaking lifestyle."</p>
<p>Remy's mouth twisted into a half smirk. "So judgmental, Blue. You really are a perfect Catholic." With that, Remy turned to walk into the church. "You comin'?"</p>
<p>Kurt huffed. This was not the morning he'd been expecting.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>"Well that was fun," Remy said as they exited the church after mass. "Far less hellfire than Father Patrick used to deliver, so that was nice. 'Bout the same helpin' of guilt though."</p>
<p>They had sat in the very back row, and Remy had kept his gaze down for most of it. He may have looked like he was in prayer, but Kurt knew it was so he could hide his eyes as much as possible.</p>
<p>Or take a nap, he wasn't sure which.</p>
<p>"Who's Father Patrick?" He asked.</p>
<p>"The bane of my existence growin' up, kept wanting to drown me and wouldn't let me have more than one cracker. So rude," said Remy.</p>
<p>Kurt stopped dead in his tracks. Crackers? Did he mean communion?</p>
<p>"Are you actually Catholic?" He asked incredulously.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, did you miss me reciting 'Our Father' along with the rest of you?" Remy asked sardonically.</p>
<p>"You could have learned that anywhere! They say it in all those possession horror movies Rogue watches!" Kurt cried.</p>
<p>Remy arched an eyebrow at him. "You do know where I'm from, right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, but.."</p>
<p>"What? You thought I was some voodoo-practicin' heathen? Tellin' the future with chicken bones and stickin' pins in dolls?" Remy shook his head and gave a rueful laugh. "Like I said, perfect Catholic you are."</p>
<p>Remy started heading down the sidewalk. "Come on, Blue, time for the best part of the week."</p>
<p>Kurt reluctantly followed. "What? The longest possible time until more church?"</p>
<p>Remy stopped walking and waiting for Kurt to catch up.</p>
<p>"No dummy, brunch. I'm starving," Remy said pointing to a diner a few buildings down. "Best way to get close to God is with a short stack."</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>It didn't make any sense.</p>
<p>How could someone who actively broke the law, and enjoyed it, even understand the church and its teachings?</p>
<p>The question had been nagging Kurt since they sat down. The vinyl seats of the diner booth squeaked as he shifted, trying to get into a comfortable position with his tail. Gambit was smiling at the waitress as she poured coffee and handed them each a menu.</p>
<p>Finally, his curiosity got the better of him.</p>
<p>"How do you do it?"</p>
<p>Remy looked up from his coffee. "Do what?"</p>
<p>"Quit playing dumb, you know what I mean," Kurt</p>
<p>"No idea what you're talking about," Remy said, taking a sip. "Ugh, that's rancid."</p>
<p>Kurt screwed up his face and just blurted out his question. "How do you justify being Catholic when one of the Ten Commandments is Thou Shalt Not Steal?"</p>
<p>Remy put his mug down, folding his hands and looked Kurt dead in the eye.</p>
<p>"I asked my father the same thing after the first time he took me to church."</p>
<p>Kurt stared back, bewildered. "Seriously?"</p>
<p>"I was ten, just after I'd been adopted, and even to me it made no sense," Remy continued. "You know what he told me?"</p>
<p>Kurt shook his head.</p>
<p>"He said 'mind yer tongue boy and keep quiet.'" Remy shook his head and gave a little laugh. "I finally asked the question to my Tante Mattie. Wisest lady I never knew. You know what she said?"</p>
<p>Again, Kurt shook his head.</p>
<p>"She said people can come up with anything to justify their terrible behavior, even the most pious."</p>
<p>Remy reached for a packet of creamer and ripped off the top to pour it into the not-so-great coffee.</p>
<p>"How does a parent who claims to love Jesus disown their child for coming out as gay, or trans, or mutant? Or a pro-life politician secretly pay for his mistress to have an abortion?"</p>
<p>He stirred the coffee, then took a sip.</p>
<p>"People misuse and abuse religion all the time. Tante always said it was meant to be a guide rather than a strict set of rules. So that's how I took it. I know it's a little hypocritical, but then, so's a lot of folks."</p>
<p>Kurt gave a slow nod. "I guess I can understand that."</p>
<p>Remy and Kurt sat in silence for a long moment.</p>
<p>"Besides, I consider myself more of a lapsed Catholic," Remy finally concluded.</p>
<p>The waitress chose that moment to show up and take their order. Kurt chose pancakes and a side of sausage, while Remy chose the same, along with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast.</p>
<p>"You're going to eat all that?" Kurt asked, a little surprised. <br/>Remy shrugged and took another sip of coffee.</p>
<p>"Rogue wants us to get along."</p>
<p>Kurt looked up at his dining companion. "What?"</p>
<p>"She wants her brother and her boyfriend to maybe be more cordial than they have been recently."</p>
<p>Kurt scoffed. He hadn't been a huge fan of Remy's since his arrival at the mansion, but he tolerated him for the most part. It wasn't until Rogue's relationship with the thief had become something decidedly more than platonic that the whole thing had really started bothering him. He may have glared at the Cajun a bit too long or threatened to 'port him to Antarctica once or twice lately.</p>
<p>It didn't help that Remy was notorious for getting on people's nerves. On purpose.</p>
<p>"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt said, throwing Remy's earlier reply back in his face.</p>
<p>Remy snorted. "Now who's playin' dumb?"</p>
<p>Kurt crossed his arms and looked away. He didn't like being put on the spot like this, but he supposed he deserved it for doing the same to Remy earlier.</p>
<p>Rogue had been hurt by so many people in her life, including the man who sat across from him now. She was more open and trusting now than she had been as a teenager, but it had been a long hard road to get here. The last thing Kurt wanted as her brother was to see her get hurt again. And Gambit had 'heartbreaker' written all over his smug face.</p>
<p>"Come on, Blue," Remy said. "Tell me how you really feel. Think of it like confession."</p>
<p>Fine, if that's what he wants. Kurt took a deep breath and steeled himself. "You're not good enough for her."</p>
<p>Remy blinked. "Well, duh."</p>
<p>"What?"</p>
<p>"You think I don't know that?" Remy laughed. "Aside from the fact that Logan tells me that almost daily, do you actually think I'm not aware of that fact every single time I'm in her presence?"</p>
<p>He shook his head and took a deep breath before exhaling a sigh.</p>
<p>"I know I hurt her back then, usin' her like that. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't regret it," Remy said. "I always told myself I'd do everything in my power to make it up to her. Hell, I'm still tryin'.</p>
<p>"She means a lot to me, Blue. She's been an amazin' friend, probably the best I've ever had."</p>
<p>That Kurt could believe. The two had been nearly inseparable when they both happened to be in the mansion at the same time.</p>
<p>"I can't promise you I won't ever hurt her, that'd be like promisin' to never die or something," Remy continued. "But I care for her, and I want to make her happy."</p>
<p>Kurt was almost stunned, as he found himself believing the other man.</p>
<p>Remy suddenly looked up and a genuine smile broke out on his face. Kurt was confused for all of a second until a feminine drawl reached his ear.</p>
<p>"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Rogue said as she slid into the booth next to Remy. "That took way longer than I thought it would."</p>
<p>Remy put his arm around her shoulders and gave a little squeeze.</p>
<p>"How's your head?" He asked, pressing a small kiss to her temple.</p>
<p>"Better now. Did you get me pancakes?"</p>
<p>"Guess you'll find out."</p>
<p>Kurt watched the exchange thoughtfully. The look on his sister's face as she snagged Remy's coffee was light, playful, and surprisingly happy.</p>
<p>At least until she took a swig and nearly spat it back out, while Remy laughed.</p>
<p>Rogue had been different since Gambit had come along. She didn't carry the huge chip on her shoulder as much anymore. She was more open to people, and was finally allowing herself to let go of some of her emotional baggage.</p>
<p>I guess we have Gambit to at least partially thank for that, Kurt thought to himself.</p>
<p>"Earth to Kurt? You still with us?"</p>
<p>Kurt started. "Huh?"</p>
<p>"I said, I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it. Really, I was planning on being up and at 'em this morning, but…" she trailed off.</p>
<p>"No, no, it's okay. I understand. We'll make it work next time," Kurt said with a smile. "Don't think I'm letting you completely off the hook."</p>
<p>Rogue grinned back</p>
<p>"So? What'd I miss?"</p>
<p>"The usual. We're all going to hell no matter what we do so we might as well enjoy ourselves in the meantime," Remy said with a wink.</p>
<p>"No it wasn't!" Kurt said while Rogue laughed, just as the waitress returned with their food. Remy indicated his pancakes should be placed before Rogue.</p>
<p>"Mmmm, you did good, Swamp Rat," Rogue said with a laugh before digging in.</p>
<p>"Coffee here may be terrible, but at least the food's worth it," Remy said as he bit into a slice of bacon. "Company's pretty good too."</p>
<p>Rogue beamed at them both.</p>
<p>Kurt sat back and picked up his own fork. Maybe this hadn't been such a terrible Sunday after all.</p>
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